Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎76v] (152/320)

£6
MEMORANDUM.
Import restrictions and special customs requirements in Iran, as they ^
affect Consular officers.
1. Iranian Foreign Trade Monopoly, and the system of Import Licences .—
All foreign trade is legally a monopoly of the Iranian Government. Private
individuals may only import goods against an official licence issued by the
Ministry of Commerce. This regulation is not relaxed in the case of foreign
diplomatic and consular representatives. These licences take from one to
three months, and in some cases even longer, to obtain. At some ports it has
proved possible to obtain immediate clearance of goods against a guarantee
that a licence will be produced. But this is an unofficial arrangement and no
reliance can be placed on its continuance. Applications for licences are sub
mitted in a prescribed form by Consulates to the Legation, who transmit them
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Consular officers proceeding to Iran should therefore arrange with their
posts for lists of the goods which they propose to import to be forwarded to
the Legation with the required application forms and Persian translations. A
detailed specification of the nature of the goods is not required. They may be
classified in such categories as ‘ household effects ’, ‘ groceries ’, ‘ alcoholic
drinks ’ etcetera. The lists should include a statement shewing the value of
the goods, their country of origin, the customs post by which they will enter
the country, and the approximate date of their arrival. In the case of a car,
the make, horse-power, engine and chassis numbers should also be given.
(Personal effects which a consular officer will have with him on his arrival at
the frontier need not be included in the lists, as no import licence is necessary
for these). In cases of great urgency the necessary information may be sent
direct by the consular officer to the Legation, who will prepare the applica
tion forms.
In view of the time taken to extract licences from the Iranian authorities,
it is in all cases most desirable that applications for licences should reach the
Legation as long as possible in advance of the arrival of the goods at the fron
tier. In the case of an officer newly posted to Iran (unless he is to join the
staff of the Legation), it is unfortunately impossible to send in to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs any application in his name until the Iranian Government
have agreed to his appointment. Nevertheless, it is strongly urged that
applications should be sent to the Legation as soon as possible, in order
that the Legation may be able to forward them to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs as soon as the agrement is received.
2. Special Restrictions. —The requirement of import licences applies equal
ly to all categories of goods. In addition, certain articles are subject to special
restrictions. The following is a summary of those by which consular officers
are most likely to be affected :—
(а) Arms and ammunition. —A decision of the Council of Ministers is
needed before these may be imported. The time required to
obtain an import licence for them is therefore even longer than
in the case of ordinary goods. As sporting weapons and am
munition are likely to suffer from a prolonged stay in the
customs, consular officers are advised to apply for the import
licences well in advance of the date on which the consignment
is due to be despatched from the United Kingdom or India,
allowing a minimum of three months for obtaining the import
licences.
(б) Seeds and plants. —To import seeds, plants, bulbs, etcetera, a
licence from the Central Agricultural Department, as well as an
ordinary import licence, is required. Consular officers should
therefore send to the Legation, in addition to an application
for an import licence, an application for the permission of the
Agricultural Department : this latter application should be
accompanied by a certificate from a Government Department
of the country of origin of the seeds, testifying that they are
all free from disease. A copy of this certificate should, in
addition, accompany the seeds themselves.